A Falcon's Heart
by Ikitsumi
Summary: Ikitsumi, an Elven Healer-in-Training, has taken a liking to a certain Healer slash Priest at Qilla Base Camp...so how can she prove it? Seriously, did she have to ask the flirtatious weapons merchant for advice? He is Heulfryn's best friend, after all..


**Alright, finally a Mabinogi fanfiction! Even if it is a one-shot... Anyways, I wrote this before I happened to get married, haha. Heulfryn is amongst my favorite NPCs, most of whom are Healers anyways. I started doing his part-time work just for the Holy Water, but as I read over his changing dialogue, I grew more and more attached to the guy and decided to show it in a fanfiction. **

**Everyone (c) Mabinogi, unless you decide to count your personalized characters and their pets as your own, right?

* * *

**"Finished!" Ikitsumi's pageboy-styled mint-green hair bobbed as the girl pulled ten wool bundles out of her Wool Collection Pouch and handed them to Qilla Base Camp's Healer slash Priest, Heulfryn.

"You did a great job. Thank you so much," Heulfryn replied gently, smiling at her and placing the wool behind him into a crate labeled 'For Bandages.' "Er, I don't know...Should we talk about something else?" He asked the Elven girl, rubbing the back of his head somewhat awkwardly.

"I actually have to go see what's in Effie's shop," Ikitsumi replied somewhat hastily, looking up at the rising Eweca. "Maybe when I'm not so busy, OK?" she smiled, running off toward the somber-looking woman that managed Qilla Base Camp's general goods.

Heulfryn busied himself with taking the crate of wool right outside the camp and sitting by the spinning wheel and loom, sighing. It was going to be another long night of making bandages for shop. He heard the crunching of grass behind him and then turned around to see his best friend: Qilla Base Camp's very own ladies' man. "Oh, hey Nicca," Heulfryn said, setting some completed thick thread balls into another crate.

The weapons merchant walked over to Heulfryn, watching his friend weave cloth out of the wool thread. "Someone seems to have taken an interest in you," he said slyly once he sat down on another crate.

"What about interest?" The Healer asked after a few seconds, finally pulling out a Handicraft Kit and creating bandages out of the woven cloth.

"That Elf girl...She's just recently started paying you more visits than usual, even as long as we've known her," Nicca pointed out. "It's been two years, right? Just as we got settled here," he added while looking up to wonder if the facts were correct.

"Well, she said that she usually has to see Effie about things in her shop," Heulfryn replied, setting the completed bandages into the original crate. "Since I'm nearby, it's probably out of convenience, since my part-time work is easy, you know?" He laughed.

"I wonder about that," Nicca shrugged as he looked into the distance by the Mana Tunnel, where said Elven girl was sitting down and folding paper cranes like there was no tomorrow. There was a Handicraft Kit by her. He turned back to Heulfryn, who was stifling a yawn.

"You go on and get some sleep, Nicca...I'm almost done here," the Healer told him unexpectedly, working on several more bandages.

"Are you sure? It's not good to do business with a sleepy salesperson, and especially to be healed by a tired Healer," Nicca smiled, then turned around and headed back towards camp. "Then again, you've always been like this," he said, looking behind him to Heulfryn, who rolled his eyes.

Once away from Heulfryn, Nicca looked back at the Mana Tunnel where Ikitsumi was now trying to create rolling pins. Beside her was a worn-out Axe. The merchant walked over to the Elf and looked down at her. "Would you like me to repair your Axe?" He asked her.

Ikitsumi looked up at him, surprised that Nicca was actually away from his shop. "Thank you!" She smiled up at him, standing and brushing gravel off of her skirt. "Could you fix up my Shearing Knife too?" She asked, holding out the shearing knife as well.

"Of course. Follow me," he requested, walking over to his tent and sharpening the blades on both tools. "120 gold please," Nicca told her, receiving the payment and placing it in a pouch at his side. "You've been local for awhile, haven't you?" He asked once Ikitsumi closed up her bag.

"I guess...See, I've been trying to see Effie's shop to find a matching Starry Wizard Hat for my outfit because I thought I'd give that new Fashion Show in Tara a try...But then I need better shoes, so I've been traveling to find something to wear," she admitted.

"But you've also been practicing Handicraft as well, yes?" Nicca asked with a knowing smile. Even he could tell that Ikitsumi was embarrassed by this revelation.

"Haha...yeah," Ikitsumi replied, rubbing the back of her head.

A sudden bleat alerted them both to outside the camp, where a sheep was in a quarrel with a mongoose. Both of them ran out and joined with Heulfryn, who had abandoned his Handicrafting to see if he could stop the fight. Even so, Nicca and Ikitsumi both knew that the Healer, although a mage, wasn't much of a fighter.

"Oh no you don't," the Elf snarled, stepping closer to the fight. The impact of five Firebolt charges left the mongoose dead. The sheep limped over to the girl, bleating dolefully.

Nicca and Heulfryn watched silently as the girl casted her Healing on the sheep, restoring its health. "Healer-in-training, Handicrafts-woman...I bet she has a Potion Concoction Kit as well," Nicca laughed, looking to the Heulfryn.

"Sure, sure," Heulfryn rolled his eyes, punching Nicca's arm.

"Well, it's late. Let's all go to bed," Nicca said, waving at Ikitsumi and heading back into the camp with Heulfryn while Ikitsumi went back to the Mana Tunnel to continue crafting things.

The two walked to Nicca's tent and the weapons merchant turned to the camp's Healer. "You know, you might consider taking her on as an apprentice. She seems to be trying out the same things you do, haven't you noticed?" Nicca asked Heulfryn.

"I can work fine on my own," Heulfryn replied, yawning again.

"Alright, mister stubborn-pants...Bed," Nicca said, pushing his friend away and zipping his tent up for the night.

~:~:~:~:~:~:~:~:~:~:~:~:~:~:~:~:~:~:~

Morning came with Nicca rushing to Heulfryn's tent, running right through the unzipped opening. "OI! I told you to get some sleep!" Nicca exclaimed as he shook Heulfryn awake. "You didn't even hear the roosters, did you? Come on, the nighttime explorers need healing!" He shouted.

Heulfryn jumped out of his bed, his heart racing as he ran to the front of his tent. As Nicca said, a small group of people was already gathered. He let out a sigh, beginning his morning routine.

Ikitsumi sighed as she looked from afar, just standing there and patting Eryi on the head. She'd already noticed that his schedule was falling apart; each day, he would get up later than usual, and that meant that he spent too much time making his bandages. She walked over to Nicca's tent, carrying the lamb in one arm and tugging at his armor with her free hand. "Hey Nicca? Why do you suppose that Heulfryn is so sleepy lately?" She asked the flirtatious merchant.

"Truthfully, I don't know," Nicca frowned, looking from her to Heulfryn and back again. "All I know is that he's the last one to fall asleep because of his bandages," he sighed.

"Maybe I'll spy on him tonight and see if all he does is work on bandages," the Elf said without thinking, then paused with widening eyes. "THAT MAKES ME A STALKER!" She cried out, causing passerby to stare and for Eryi to squirm. Her face burned as she saw Heulfryn out of the corner of her eye, really hoping that he didn't hear her.

"Is there a less discreet way of doing that? Like...a pet, maybe?" He suggested quietly.

"Oh, that's right! I could get Zutori to do it...he's my trusty Thunderbird," Ikitsumi chirped.

"I know all too well," Nicca nodded, then sighed again. "I worry about that guy though, because we've know each other for the longest time. He's really stubborn at times, but this is unusual, even for him."

"It's good that you care though," Ikitsumi replied, then looked up with the sun directly attacking her eyes. "Ah, it's time!" She exclaimed. "See ya!" She said, running over to Heulfryn with renewed vigor.

"Caring, huh...heh," the merchant smirked. "Wish he'd notice that you did," he said to himself, turning around quickly to wink at some pretty ladies passing by.

"Oh, you've come back. Thank you for coming again, Ikitsumi," Heulfryn smiled. "Here for the usual part-time work?" He chuckled.

"Yep!" Ikitsumi beamed. She looked up at the sky, a sudden frown coming to her face. "Uh-oh...Clouds are coming," the Elf pointed out, with clouds indeed having been formed despite the bright sun. I'll go hurry so that the rain doesn't mess up the wool," she said, rushing off to go shear the sheep once Heulfryn gave the OK.

Instead of going to the fields, Ikitsumi went over to the loom and spinning wheel, staring hard at them and pulling out seven Wool Collection Pouches, all of them filled up to the max. "OK...just like I practiced in Dunbarton and Filia," she clenched her fists, looking again at the sky and pulling off her usual Core's Healer Gloves to put on Weaving Gloves.

It was almost time for Eweca to rise when she finished. "Alright, I'm done!" She called as she ran over to the Healer, ducking under the awning of the tent just as the rain began pouring down. "Ten bundles as requested," she chirped, handing them to him.

"Thank you," Heulfryn smiled at her as usual.

Ikitsumi could detect the weariness in his voice. "Heulfryn...you really need to catch up on sleep. Nicca's worried about you," she frowned.

"I'll go start making these bandages," Heulfryn said shortly, picking up the crate as usual. "Nicca knows I'm fine," he smiled at her. "Sorry for seeming so rash," he added hastily.

"Oh no you don't," Nicca's voice came out of nowhere, startling Heulfryn. "One, sir, it's raining and you'll get sick," he said, stepping in front of the Healer.

"You have a good reason not to go anywhere either," Ikitsumi said happily, emptying out much of her inventory into an empty crate. Bandages of the same quality as Heulfryn made filled said crate.

"See? Now you can rest easy because you've got yourself a little apprentice," Nicca said, making both of them stare at him.

"H-Hey! That's why you were egging me on to work on my Handicrafting!" Ikitsumi exclaimed, her face growing red.

"Nicca, don't go make people do things...I said I'm fine," Heulfryn sighed, putting a hand to his forehead.

"But this really means that you don't have to work tonight, right? You can sleep," Ikitsumi said in a bubbly tone, looking at the Healer. Her soft cat-like smile graced her face.

"Thanks, I suppose...just don't listen to him from now on though," Heulfryn replied, jabbing a thumb in Nicca's direction.

"Ow! That just stabbed my heart," Nicca faked a whimper, making everyone laugh. "Well, I'm going to go close up shop before the rain rusts any of my wares," Nicca said, running back to his tent and checking the weapons.

Heulfryn rolled his eyes and turned back to Ikitsumi. "It must have taken you awhile to make all of these, but it's helped me out a lot," he said to her, smiling again.

"It wasn't that bad! But I'm glad it helped," the Elf rubbed the back of her head. "But, I have a request, I guess..." she said slowly, her eyes reaching his before her face moved upwards to face him directly.

"Yes?" The Healer asked, looking at her curiously.

"Would you...let me continue to help you?" She asked him. "You look so tired nowadays, and it's been bothering me..." the Elf muttered, averting her gaze from Heulfryn. "I...I like coming to work seeing that you're not so burdened by making the things that you sell and having to give up your nights for it. Maybe that's how entrepreneur businesses go, but...still-"

"Are you sure that Nicca didn't put you up to this? I told him so many times that I'll be fine," Heulfryn gave her a weary smile: the sight of that bothered her again. "Really, thank you, but I know how to set my schedule straight," he told the Elven girl, patting her head and giving her a last smile before retreating into his tent and zipping it before Ikitsumi could say more.

"Ikitsumi?" Nicca asked, stopping what he was doing and walking over to the Elf girl still standing there. He put a hand on one of her shoulders and and turned her around to see her face, alarmed.

"...Nicca...why...?" The girl walked into the pounding ran that was washing away the hot tears falling from her crimson eyes. "What...what am I...doing wrong? Am I...am I being a nuisance? W-what more can I-I do?" She finally let out a loud sob, collapsing to her knees and slamming a fist into the ground repeatedly, dirtying her dress and gloves. "WHAT CAN I DO?" She cried before Nicca covered her mouth and picked her up.

"What you can do is get in here and get changed into another outfit before you get sick, understood?" Nicca carried her into his tent, grabbing a towel and patting her hair dry. "Stay here tonight so you can avoid the rain, alright?" He asked, stepping outside as Ikitsumi summoned Shageru and checked his inventory for her spare outfit. The merchant sighed, running a hand through his hair and looked in the direction of Heulfryn's tent, clearly disappointed.

In said tent, someone was clenching a pillow and gritting his teeth, extremely frustrated and angry with himself.

"_...I'm so stupid...why am I hurting her when I didn't mean to hurt her? Can't I get help from my own best friend?_"

~:~:~:~:~:~:~:~:~:~:~:~:~:~:~:~:~:~:~

Ikitsumi was the first person to wake up in the camp that morning, even before the nighttime explorers arrived. The Elf left the campgrounds before everyone awoke, hanging out by the Mana Tunnel until it was safe to arrive casually. She went over to Nicca, glancing at Heulfryn. "He...he still looks absolutely horrible, he looks...worse than yesterday..." She sniffed.

"It looks like the usual...Llike he actually went to go make bandages," Nicca frowned, shaking his head. "When will that guy learn, seriously?"

"Maybe now would be a good time to have Zutori keep an eye on things?" Ikitsumi asked, and Nicca nodded. "I'll be warping to Uladh tonight, so I'll leave Zutori here with you," she told him, getting another nod.

The day passed as usual for Qilla Base Camp, except for the absence of Ikitsumi that the usual merchants noticed.

Nicca walked over to Heulfryn once it was closing time. "Hey there, sleepyhead," he gave the Healer a disdainful smile.

"So...what were you talking about earlier today?" was the reply, surprising Nicca.

"That it didn't look like you got any sleep at all. Well...I guess that it'll take awhile for you to get used to it. I'm going to bed," Nicca said, frowning at the lack of wool bundles. "Maybe you'll get to sleep earlier with less work," he pointed out.

"Sure," Heulfryn replied shortly, taking the unusually lighter crate with a frown and stepping out of the campgrounds.

Despite this, Nicca knew that to fulfill the request set forth by the Elven girl, he didn't immediately go to sleep. He sat there on his bed patiently and waited until the loom finished working. "Go, Zutori," he told the Thunderbird, who took flight and followed the Healer from the sky.

~:~:~:~:~:~:~:~:~:~:~:~:~:~:~:~:~:~:~

The next morning, Zutori woke Nicca up and ran outside to greet his owner.

"Oh, Zutori, you're looking lively," Ikitsumi gushed, still wearing her black and white Terra Adventurer's Outfit. "Thanks for watching him," she told Nicca with a smile. "Well...let's find out what Zutori saw," she said, taking Nicca's hand and placing it on Zutori's head feather, along with her own hand.

From the Thunderbird's memories, it was still dark outside and the finished bandages were sitting desolately by the loom. Zutori looked around, and then saw a lone figure running past the sheep and towards Maiz Prairie. As he flew overhead for quite awhile, slightly fatigued, he caught a break as the figure was observing a few stone statues. He looked closer, seeing that the person was apparently frustrated as to what to do, as if he was searching for something.

"It's not here either...I don't get it, how can I find it?"

He quietly followed the Healer back to the camp as the search came out fruitlessly; it was almost time for Eweca to disappear.

"What was...?" Nicca blinked once he removed his hand. "...Ikitsumi, has Heulfryn ever mentioned artifacts to you?" He asked as Ikitsumi canceled the bird's summon.

"I think...yes, yes he has," Ikitsumi said, looking towards Heulfryn's tent thoughtfully. "It was when I mentioned the Gathering skill. As he put it, um..." She looked down thoughtfully and closed her eyes. "'In order for me to give you some of the Holy Water of Lymilark, you'll have to give me a little something in return...so I've been accepting items that explorers have been collecting and bringing back. This skill is sure to be useful for collecting such artifacts and items.'"

"You...actually memorized that?" Nicca laughed, making Ikitsumi blush.

"That's not the point! ...Nicca, has anyone been bringing artifacts to him?" The Elf inquired as the blush faded, her crimson eyes fixed on him.

"Actually, no, now that I think about it..." Nicca replied after a few seconds. "Ever since Cor was discovered, people actually do more artifact searching and appraising there," he added.

"That's it, then! He must be searching for artifacts!" Ikitsumi exclaimed, an excited smile coming to her face.

"I think I know what's he's looking for!" Nicca slammed a fist into his palm.

"What is it?" Ikitsumi asked, her heart rushing all of a sudden, and then watched as Nicca went into Heulfryn's tent.

The merchant noticed that Heulfryn was still turned around so his back was facing the entrance to the tent. He looked on the dresser and grabbed an old paper, then came back out quietly with it. "Here," he said, letting the Elven girl look at it.

"You're searching for...this? Then you're looking in the completely wrong area!" She said with wide eyes, somewhat amused.

"Huh?" Nicca said, bewildered. "How can you be so sure?" He asked doubtfully.

Ikitsumi giggled. "I wouldn't be called an explorer of Iria if I didn't know these things, Nicca. I know what this is and where to find it, exactly," she grinned.

"Well, I'll leave it to you. You've done far more exploring than either of us," Nicca shrugged.

"Give this to him for me please. I'm going to be gone during work time," she said, pulling a pouch out and handing it to him. After that, she pulled her Cold Wind L-Rods out and set them around her belt.

"Alright. It's about time for everyone else to wake up, so I'll go set up shop. See you," Nicca said as Ikitsumi ran out of the camp with a determined look, summoning Zutori quickly and mounting the exotic-looking bird to fly west.

Heulfryn sighed, his eyes opening. The Healer, as seen from Zutori's memory, had been fully awake the whole night. He gritted his teeth before he forced himself to get out of bed, taking a deep breath to put on a demeanor that wouldn't scare everyone away; He heard _everything_ that Nicca and Ikitsumi had just discussed and was severely pissed off. Once he stepped out of his tent, he began setting up his shop, but only managed to get a few crates out before Nicca walked over.

"...She's not here," he said before the weapons merchant could say anything, looking around a little bit.

"Oh yeah, she wanted me to give these bandages to you so that you wouldn't have to work your butt off as usual," Nicca said, pulling out a pouch of handmade bandages and handing them to the Healer. "You really owe her, didn't you know? She's still helping you out, even though you told her not to."

Heulfryn didn't say anything, but took the package and went into the tent, standing inside for a minute.

"You alright?" Nicca called, entering the tent with a worried expression. He put a hand on Heulfryn's shoulder, wondering what was up.

There was a flash of amber and a scream of fury that filled the enclosed camp.

The next thing Nicca knew, he was suddenly be on the ground outside the tent, feeling the impact of a well-placed punch, and a cloud of dirt flying up from his sudden landing.

"What was that for?" Nicca demanded angrily, standing back up quickly and rubbing his cheek, smearing the blood that was on it. He was shocked even more to see the Healer frozen in place, his fist still quivering, and a contorted, furious expression in place of his everyday carefree smile.

"I'm pretty sure you can figure it out, Nicca," Heulfryn spat, this sudden change in attitude grabbing the attention of nearby people and the other merchants.

"Heulfryn! Oi, tell me what's wrong!" Nicca exclaimed, but saw only a murderous glare from the amber eyes of Heulfryn and the tears that were forming within them.

"What's going on?" Came Effie's cry, the woman running over with Alexina and Ethna behind her.

Tears were streaming down the Healer's face. He sighed angrily, his fingers on one hand tangled in the hair close to the front of his head.

"Nothing to see here!" Ethna shouted to make the gathering crowd disappear. "Come on people, move it!" She continued to chase people away as Alexina walked over briskly.

"Goodness..." Alexina put a bandage on Nicca's face, looking at Heulfryn, then back to Nicca. "Group meeting in five minutes. Lock up everything and be there," she called in her assertive voice, returning to her post.

Heulfryn turned back to his tent, shoving everything back in. He paused while debating to put the delivered package on the ground, but instead put them on the bed and slammed a fist onto the dresser.

~:~:~:~:~:~:~:~:~:~:~:~:~:~:~:~:~:~:~

Within five minutes, the merchants were all gathered right in the middle of the camp. "OK, so Nicca," Alexina said, pacing between Heulfryn and him. "Heulfryn said that a map of his is missing and he also claims that you've been unnecessarily flirtatious recently. How would you counter this?" She asked, raising an eyebrow.

"The latter...it's very strange, you've never had a problem with it before..." Effie pointed out.

"It's about a girl, isn't it?" Ethna jumped up, looking at both of them.

"Wait, seriously?" Alexina gave the two men a flat stare, rolling her eyes. "But what about this map, then?" She asked.

"It's a map that explains where to find a certain artifact in Iria," Heulfryn muttered darkly, then slowly stood up.

"'You're searching for...this? Then you're looking in completely the wrong area!' 'Huh? How can you be so sure?' 'I wouldn't be called an explorer of Iria if I didn't know these things, Nicca. I know what this is and where to find it, exactly.' 'Well, I'll leave it to you. You've done far more exploring than either of us."' His temper was rising with each sentence, and finally turned around to face Nicca.

"I know you took the map from the table in my tent, Nicca! I was awake! She's probably doing this for you since your damn cologne probably got to her head!" He shouted, and Nicca stood up, towering over Heulfryn.

"HEULFRYN, quiet!" Alexina snapped, making the Healer cringe a little due to her authority. "Who is 'she'?" Qilla Base Camp's leader demanded, raising an eyebrow.

Nicca's laugh made everyone's eyes widen. "Do you seriously think that I took her from you? She came to me first!" He put a hand to his forehead, not realizing how wrong his choice of words were. His eyes, as well the girls, shot open as Heulfryn tackled Nicca to the ground with revived fury and a new murderous intent.

The Healer let his fist fly towards Nicca's face again, but Nicca blocked it this time and began fighting back, easily throwing Heulfryn off and causing the Healer to land on the dirt in the same manner Nicca fell earlier.

Heulfryn jumped back up rather quickly, a small bit of an HP Potion slipping from between his lips. He ran towards Nicca again, and the best friends were just about to make fists meet when-

"STOOOOOOOOP!"

A Falcon Justice landed in between the fighting pair, pulling Heulfryn away and holding onto him, burying her face into the crook of his neck. Overhead, a flash indicated that the used mount to rush here was unsummoned.

"Good timing! Eh...it's you?" Ethna asked, her eyes widening as she recognized the figure.

"Who are you?" Heulfryn asked with a frustrated voice, trying to pull away from the unknown Falcon Justice.

Effie looked at Heulfryn sadly, sighing a bit. "She never shows Beast Mode to you because it takes too much to heal..." she murmured.

The Falcon Justice let go of Heulfryn, who whirled around, and handed him the very map that started the fistfight between the best friends.

"Wait, what's going on...? Why are you giving this back to me if you were doing his work?" Heulfryn asked quietly, biting his lip.

"I...went to Nicca for help, not because of his flirtatiousness..." The Justice muttered. "This map...you were looking in the wrong place this entire time..." She said, seeming rather tired despite her grand appearance.

"So you found it for him? Good for him," Heulfryn turned to Nicca, shrugging.

"You really ARE an idiot, aren't you?" Nicca shouted, grabbing Heulfryn's green stole and pulling him upwards, actually lifting him off the ground despite Ikitsumi's sudden cry of protest.

"Why would someone devote their time to someone and continue to try to make them happy and care for them if they had feelings for someone else? Unless they had a heart of ice and maliciousness, then I don't think they would. This Falcon's heart thrives to keep YOU happy just as the desert heat of her home thrives to help other things survive..." Nicca let go of Heulfryn's stole, letting out a sigh as the Healer fell down, his speech having caused Heulfryn's mind to rush through many of the instances that had happened recently and realizing the meaning of it.

A flash of light and translucent feathers brought Heulfryn's attention back to the Falcon, revealing an injured Ikitsumi. "Woulda been nice to remember that Lungfish and Cactus Lizards don't like people invading on their territory..." the Elf grinned at Heulfryn, who stood up quickly with a worried look. She took Heulfryn's hand and placed a parcel into his palm before passing out, being caught by the man who was now holding her in his arms, holding her protectively.

"Hey Healer! Do your job and let her rest in your tent," Nicca smiled, then looked to Alexina, who gave him an approving smile as he returned to the Weapons Shop.

"You're so gonna get beat up if you let her suffer more, got it?" Ethna gave Heulfryn her customary wild look, returning to the Bank.

"Take care of her...she's a special one," Effie nodded softly, returning to the General Shop.

"OK everyone, reopen shop! Heulfryn, take care of the girl. She seems to have sacrificed a lot for your sake," she told the Healer, returning to take care of administration business and tickets for the ship between Iria and Uladh Continents.

~:~:~:~:~:~:~:~:~:~:~:~:~:~:~:~:~:~:~

It was around evening that Ikitsumi opened her eyes gently. Her red eyes widened suddenly as she saw Heulfryn watching her, the soft blue Healing stars hovering around him. "Heulfryn, wha-ow," the Elven girl hissed as she tried to sit up.

"You're not all patched up yet, please rest," the Healer requested, letting the stars envelop her body in a blue veil and restoring her health.

Ikitsumi sighed and laid there as he asked her to do. "...What you and Nicca sought...it serves no purpose to Humans or Giants..." she said after a few seconds, looking at him with a smile despite all the pain she seemed to be in.

Heulfryn smiled. "We know that, but...we wanted to find it anyways. Exploring is fun...we've always thought that," he chuckled.

"It is fun..." Ikitsumi agreed, taking a breath.

Heulfryn picked up the parcel. "So this is for me...really?" He asked the girl, who nodded. He opened it up, revealing the amber-colored Yellow Heart of Giant Stone. "So this whole time, Nicca and I thought it was somewhere in Rano because there are lots of statues here..."

"It's in Connous Desert, using the Gathering skill. I summoned about three statues to find the Yellow Heart. Hm..." she licked her lip, "Seeing it again...brings up the memory of when I required it to get Castanea to teach me Mirage Missile...Agh, that was so long ago! Lungfish are strong and like to chase you around..."

"But why did you try and treat yourself? It's more convenient to come see a Healer such as myself," Heulfryn asked. "Isn't Atrata the Elven Healer in Filia? You could have seen her too, right?"

Ikitsumi sighed, turning so that she didn't have to face him. "I'd rather not have you treat my wounds...because it'd show how incompetent I am at fighting after rebirthing..."

"But that's to be expected! And it's my job to heal people, Ikitsumi," Heulfryn shook his head. "Even if you've rebirthed, your skills should make you better. That's why you're a Falcon Justice and not just a Falcon. Watch, I bet you'll become a Falcon Wave in no time," he smiled.

"Hah, you have a good memory. Alexina established camp here two years ago, right? That's about the time that Nao guided me to Filia from the Soul Stream..." Ikitsumi murmured after turning back to face him.

"Oh yeah...then other humans started arriving from Continent Warping or from Uladh's Port Ceann to Port Qilla. As an Elf, I think you had to cross Connous Desert, cross West Neres Plateau, cross the Lutra River to enter Karu Forest, cross Muyu Desert, Maiz Plains, and then arrive here, right?" Heulfryn asked. "It mustn't have been too hard if you had Zutori and Shageru."

"But I didn't get those two until Cor was discovered," Ikitsumi replied with a laugh. "I came here by foot and wild ostriches and mustangs," she said, looking at him with an amused smile.

"Oh, bless you! It seems Lymilark kept watch over you," Heulfryn smiled. "Oh, that reminds me! Here's something from me for the bandages earlier," he said, holding out a pouch that must have contained ten vials of Holy Water of Lymilark.

"UWAHH! I can't take it, Heulfryn!" Ikitsumi exclaimed in alarm, sitting up and wincing. "I didn't show up for part-time work at all! Besides that, I'm not diligent enough at the work to earn ten whole vials!" She shouted.

"Well then, consider this a gift for bringing this," Heulfryn smiled, indicating the Yellow Heart.

"Are you sure? Other people have a use for it, and I have plenty to last...well...if you insist," Ikitsumi said, taking the pouch from him and setting it in her inventory.

"One more thing," Heulfryn said, looking at Ikitsumi. "Are you sure that Nicca didn't put you up to helping me?" He asked.

"Of course he didn't! I'm doing it all of my own accord!" Ikitsumi chirped, back to her cheery self despite all the wounds and how sore her body was. "Heulfryn, I really worry about you too. I really enjoy coming to see you when you're not so worried about how you're going to spend your nights working when your main job is in the daytime. Your eyes hide that worry, I can tell," she said with a sad smile.

"_You really ARE an idiot, aren't you? Why would someone devote their time to someone and continue to try to make them happy and care for them if they had feelings for someone else? Unless they had a heart of ice and maliciousness, then I don't think they would. This Falcon's heart thrives to keep YOU happy just as the desert heat of her home thrives to help other things survive..._"

"So, er...would you like to help me to get this worry out of my system? If you still want to work as an apprentice, that is," Heulfryn rubbed the back of his head, not able to help the smile that came across his face when Ikitsumi tightly wrapped her arms around him.

"Thank youuuuuu..." Ikitsumi buried her face in his chest, a huge smile coming to her face as well.

"So...what does all of this helping-me-out mean?" Heulfryn asked, patting her head.

"...uh..." Ikitsumi's eyes widened, her face heating up and growing red, letting go of him a little quickly much to his surprise. "B-Because I don't like seeing you look so t-tired all the time, and that you shouldn't overwork, and ah-ah-ah-ah-IthinkIloveyou," she rushed.

"Hm? What was that last bit?" Heulfryn asked, curiously tilting his head.

"WILL YOU GUYS GO AWAY PLEASE?" Ikitsumi squealed, pulling the covers over her face and curling up.

Heulfryn raised an eyebrow, then walked to the front of the tent where Alexina, Ethna, Effie, and Nicca were listening with their ears cupped to the tent. He pulled the cover open, making everyone look at him. "Seriously, guys...private conversation," Heulfryn sighed as Ethna and Alexina squealed, jumping up and down.

"Can't be private if we're here," Ethna stuck her tongue out, still jumping excitedly as Effie backed off a little bit, surprised that Ikitsumi was able to tell that the Qilla Base Camp merchants were outside.

"We're all coworkers here," Alexina whistled innocently. "This won't hurt anything," she hummed.

"That's what friends are for, right?" Nicca joked, and Heulfryn rolled his eyes.

"Sure," he grinned at Nicca, the two of them catching eyes for a second with mutual understanding.

The Healer retreated back inside, sitting beside Ikitsumi and pulled the covers off of her head. "Could you say that last bit for me again, please?" He asked her, leaning closer.

Even though she knew everyone was looking and listening, she managed to look up at the Healer. "...does it need to be said?" She asked with her cat-like smile, leaning towards him and completing the kiss.

"_I'll be the best Healer's apprentice ever, just you watch!_"

"_Haha, of course you will_."**

* * *

Anyways, I learned as I ventured throughout this that you can't actually gift the Yellow Heart of Giant Statue to NPCs. It was sitting in my inventory until I gave it to another friend of mine who was new and needed it.**


End file.
